Retd bank employee put under “digital arrest”, duped of

MEERUT: A retired bank employee in Meerut fell victim to a “digital arrest” scam, confined to his house for four days and duped of ₹1.73 crore by cyber crooks who threatened him with a arrest in a money laundering case. Based on the victim’s complaint, Meerut cyber police station has registered a case.
According to reports, Suraj Prakash, a resident of the Civil Lines area, received a call on September 17. The caller identified himself as an employee of the telecom department and claimed that all his registered mobile numbers were being blocked because an account had been opened in Canara Bank using his Aadhaar card, with ₹6.80 crore deposited through money laundering.
Soon after, he received a call on WhatsApp, and the caller informed him that a report had been filed against him in Maharashtra and that he would be sent to jail.
The caller directed him not to leave the house or meet anyone and demanded that he transfer money to specified accounts if he wanted to avoid charges of money laundering.
On September 18, ₹3.80 lakh was transferred, followed by ₹5 lakh to another bank account. On September 20, ₹90 lakh was transferred to one account, and on September 21, ₹45 lakh and ₹30 lakh were transferred to other accounts.
By the time Suraj Prakash realised he had been defrauded, it was too late. He lodged a report at the cyber police station. Cyber police station in-charge Subodh Saxena said that action had been initiated to freeze the bank accounts of the cyber criminals, and efforts were underway to trace the accused.
RECENT CASES OF DIGITAL ARREST
Case 1: Dr. Anuj Kumar, a resident of Jagriti Vihar Dwarka Tower, received a video call on WhatsApp on August 21. The caller, introducing himself as a special CBI officer from Hyderabad, claimed that Dr. Kumar’s Canara Bank account in Bareilly had been used in a money laundering case. He was kept under “digital arrest” over the video call for several hours and coerced into transferring ₹3.37 lakh from two bank accounts via RTGS.
Case 2: Kiranpal, a resident of Saraswati Colony in Daurala, received his provident fund amount in his bank account on May 23. On May 25, he received a call from someone posing as a CBI officer. The caller intimidated him with various allegations, including funding terrorists through his account. Under “digital arrest”, Kiranpal was forced to transfer ₹11 lakh from two bank accounts.
Case 3: A retired Air Force employee from the Nauchandi area received a call on July 9. The caller, who appeared to be in police uniform with the background of a Mumbai police station, alleged that ₹25 lakh had been transferred from a bank account linked to his Aadhaar card for a porn video business. The caller further claimed that 15-16 FIRs were registered against him in Mumbai, and through fear and intimidation, ₹15 lakh was transferred from his account.